How the Wind Blows
by tilldeathfindsme
Summary: Sky High seniors are just trying to get through one last year, but the school is all abuzz w the arrival of a not so new student. Strangeness begins & the blame game ensues. Everyone's quick to blame the new arrival, but are they right?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Orientation

----------------------------------------

"Alright, midgets, listen up!"

The large group of confused teenagers turned around to find that a middle-aged man clad in a matching Sky High athletic shorts set had appeared on a platform that had emerged from the gym floor. He also wore matching blue and white socks, red-tinted sunglasses, and a blue baseball cap with his little outfit. The man seemed like he took his job just alittle too seriously. It wasn't like he was principle of Sky High; that would be Principal Powers, who had just sped out of the gym in comet form, leaving behind said confused teenagers at the mercy of said middle-aged man.

A blonde girl towards the front of the group leaned over to a friend and loudly whispered, "Somebody sure knows how to color coordinate."

A few of the group snickered under their breath, suppressing laughter, while others simply rolled their eyes. Most were too busy shaking with nervous apprehension of what was to come.

The man sharply turned his gaze to the two giggling girls. "Excuse me, young misses, but I believe I was talking."

Someone in the back of the group snorted loudly, causing a wave of giggles to erupt towards the platform.

Looking extremely annoyed, the man grabbed the whistle around his neck and blew a continuous screeching note at the group for solid minute. Afterwards, he rearranged his baseball cap, cleared his throat, and continued. "As I was saying, my name is Coach Boomer, also known as Sonic Boom."

He paused for a moment, as if to see if his name would get any kind of reaction. He was only met with silence though, so he went on.

"I take extreme pride in this school, and I would advise you all to do the same, seeing as you will be here for the next four, very long, years." This remark was directed to the smug blonde at the front of the crowd. "Welcome to Sky High Power Placement. Listen up, because I'm NOT gonna remind you again."

Coach Boomer then proceeded to go into a groan-inducing speech which he so clearly loved delivering and probably spent hours practicing in front of a mirror. It came complete with pacing and melodramatic hand gestures.

"You will step up here and show me your power. Yes, you will do so in front of the ENTIRE class. I will then determine where you will be assigned, hero or side kick. Now, every year there are a few students, or as I like to call them 'whiner-babies,' who see fit to question and to complain about their placement. So, let's get one thing straight. My word is law. My judgment is final. So, there will be no whiner-babies. Are we clear?"

The group gave mumble response, evoking an annoyed expression from the Coach. "I said are we CLEAR?"

The last word rumbled out from his throat, echoing and reverberating around the gymnasium. Everyone was blown backwards slightly, and a few of the smaller kids were completely knocked over. It was now perfectly clear why he was known as "Sonic Boom."

He received the unison reply of, "YES, COACH BOOMER!"

He blew the whistle again and dramatically declared, "Go time."

A metal staircase sprung out from the platform as Coach Boomer scanned the crowd before him. He pointed at the girl who had remarked on his attire and called out, "You're up first."

She quickly glanced over at her friend, who gave her an encouraging smile, and ascended to the platform. She was a tall, leggy girl with medium length Barbie-blonde hair. Her eyes were an icy, light blue and she had a suntanned complexion.

Coach Boomer whipped off his sunglasses and pulled up his clipboard. "Name."

"A-Alyson Sh-Sheerwood."

Her stuttering was met with laughter from a couple of boys near the stairs. She turned a fierce glare in their direction before facing the coach again.

"Alright Princess, show me your power."

Alyson smirked and turned to face the boys who had laughed at her, all confidence now. She raised her hands and concentrated for a moment until her arms began to glow with a bright, white light. She opened her eyes and sent a stream of ice at them. Within seconds, one boy was completely frozen and the other looked like he'd just come out of a meat locker.

"Freeze girl huh?" Coach Boomer checked something on his clipboard and yelled out, "Hero!"

With a smile, Alyson ran back down to her friend's side.

"Alright people, we've got a big group today, so let's make this snappy. Let me have Marissa Ruiz up here!"

This time Alyson's friend, a dark-haired and equally tanned girl, hopped up the stairs to Coach Boomer. She smiled widely and raised her hands above her head. A moment later she began to hover above the platform, light smoke surrounding her feet. She kept rising until she was a few feet above Coach Boomer and then floated back down.

"Flyer, hero!"

Marissa's sister, Madison, turned out to be a flyer as well. Henry Brockington was a shape shifter, Kyle Dennison could change size, and Jessica Stamp could create force fields. The first sidekick was Geoffrey Rush. He didn't have any powers at all, unless you counted turning beat red when he tried to tell Coach Boomer. He was joined shortly by Brandey Yves, Michelle Rodron, and Abraham Chavez, who could change the color of things, laugh like a hyena, and summon a ham from thin air respectively.

The placement continued, producing alternating groupings of smug heroes and disappointed sidekicks.

"Alright, you, Ozzy, get up here." Boomer pointed to a dark, brooding boy who had been leaning against the wall.

Coach Boomer continued calling out, "Come on; hurry up," as the boy slowly trudged up the steps. When he reached the top, he crossed his arms across his chest and glared at the man and his little clipboard. He was tall and had long dark hair, which fell into his face.

"Sonic Boom" did a slight double take when he met the teenager's dark eyes.

"Name."

"Warren Peace."

There was an audible gasp from one of the girls in the crowd below. Instantly whispers buzzed throughout the crowd. If anyone didn't know before, they had to know now that Warren Peace was the son of a superhero mother and a villain father, Baron Battle, who had recently been put in jail by the Commander.

After momentarily sizing Warren up, Coach Boomer cleared his throat loudly and said, "Go on then!"

Warren didn't move for a moment and continued glaring at the man until someone below loudly suggested that perhaps he didn't have any powers. His frown deepened and he took a step back. Suddenly he reeled his arm back like he was throwing a football. Only instead of a football, Coach Boomer had a ball of fire thrown just over his head, leaving a scorch mark on his base ball cap. Marissa and Alyson both screamed loudly, while the rest of the group avoided eye-contact with the boy on the platform. The coach who was examining his hat proceeded to mutter softly.

Still mourning the loss of his hat, "Pyrokinetic, haven't had one of those in a few years. Hero."

Warren descended the stairs as slowly as he'd come up, and a few students jumped away from him as he passed through the crowd, gloved hands still smoking.

"You best watch where you're aiming hot head," Coach Boomer called out once there was a good twenty feet separating the two. "Alright, alright three left. Lemme get Lily and then Adam Bevan up here."

Lily Bevan was tall and had shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair. Her light green eyes popped out dramatically against her sun-kissed complexion. She turned out to be a siren, like her hero mother. When asked to demonstrate she let out one, screechingly high note, which ended up shattering the windows and one poor sidekick's glasses.

Adam was a tall, thin kid with spiky, dirty blonde hair and the same light green eyes. After demonstrating his ability control water, he joined his sister and the rest of the heroes.

"And last we have Miss. Barillo. Get up and power up missy," Coach Boomer yelled out as Adam descended the metal stairs.

"Barillo," Coach Boomer looked out at the crowd of students. "Celine Barillo. BARILLO!"

Celine Barillo winced every time he called out her name as she wove timidly through the crowd. Just as she reached the stairs, Adam Bevan, apparently accidentally, elbowed her in the stomach as he "tripped." Though Adam miraculously kept his footing, Celine spun around and fell backwards onto the cool metal.

A faint blush graced her face as laughter surrounded her.

Coach Boomer looked down at the fallen girl and called out, "Having balance problems before we even get started, Miss. Barillo?"

Celine kept her eyes on her feet after she rose and continued looking down when she reached Coach Boomer. She could clearly feel the judgmental eyes on her. She knew she gave off the impression of someone so tentative that she could simply cease to exist if the wind blew the right way. She inwardly smirked at the irony, but no one caught that as her long, dull black hair fell into her face, blocking the crowd from her downcast eyes. She was rather short and not particularly thin, though not necessarily fat either.

Coach Boomer had a slightly bemused expression on his face as he used his clipboard to push away a bit of the black curtain covering the girl's voice. "Barillo?"

Celine looked up sharply and, with a slight lilt in her voice, said, "Duck."

"Wh-?"

Coach Boomer had just barely thrown himself down as several razor-like shards of glass flew through the air where he had just been standing. He looked at her quizzically and someone in the crowd said something like, "..Is making glass a power?"

Celine rolled her eyes and shoved her hands in her pockets. Soon enough, the gym was filled with a dull whooshing sound. The shards of glass from the shattered windows were flying through the air, kind of orbiting around the gym, slowly picking up pace.

Coach Boomer stood, slightly shaken. "Oh, you're telekinetic. Could've just said that. He-"

"No."

The man was clearly becoming further annoyed by the odd girl. "What do you mean no? I sa-"

"I'm not telekinetic." Celine's voice was very quiet and Boomer was leaning down slightly to catch her low tone.

"You move things with your mind, girl. That would be _telekinesis._"

This evoked another giggle from the crowd.

Celine ignored them and raised a hand towards one of the high windows. A moment later a powerful gust of wind burst in, bringing with it leaves, branches, and a teeth chattering cold. When she lowered he hand, the wind simply dissipated.

"Wind control. Gotcha. Hero."

Celine once again lowered her eyes and quickly hopped down the stairs.

"And that would be it kiddos!" Coach Boomer grinned from the top of the platform. "After lunch, you'll all need to swing by the front office and grab your schedules. No, they won't be ready until after lunch. Yes, you will have to play nice and wait your turns in line."

Coach Boomer jumped of the platform as it descended back into the gym floor. With one last smirk, he replaced his sunglasses and walked out of the gym. From down the hall his loud voice rang out, "Oh, and DON'T FALL!"

The teenagers looked around at each other, about a million times as confused as when they had been led into the gym. None of them had the vaguest idea of where the cafeteria was. Or the office. Or really even the bathroom.

Eventually the group walked to the exit, and everyone just looked up and down the halls for a moment.

Suddenly the ridiculously loud ringing of the lunch bell erupted all through the school. A few of the students managed to throw themselves up against the lockers, but most of them, still deaf and confused, were shocked to find themselves in the middle of a stampede of older students, who had just emerged from every which direction.

All of them were suddenly captured by a unanimous thought.

Even when you're a superhero, or sidekick or whatever, it still really sucks to be a freshman.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Very short chapter. Just wanted to move along…

Chapter 2

Last Sight

Freshman year at Sky High was pretty similar in most respects to that of a regular high school. Of course, regular high schools didn't require students to practice fighting skills or assembling heat rays, but other than those little things, they weren't too different.

Being at the bottom of the social food chain, freshmen were naturally last for absolutely every thing. Last in the lunch lines, last to crowd into the gym, and continuously shoved throughout the hallways.

As the year went on, the separation of heroes and "hero support" socially became more and more pronounced. The typical clique system also appeared.

Alyson Sheerwood and the Ruiz twins quickly nudged their way upper social circles of the school; by the end of the year, they had developed a growing following of their own. Two boys who had been massively unpopular in the beginning of the school year, Gregory Simmons and Sheldon Sezwic, soon emerged as the class's bullies, adopting the names Speed and Lash. The Bevans, Lily and Adam, not only rose to popularity among their fellow students, but also managed to gain the favor of most teachers.

Sidekicks rounded out the class hierarchy.

The student population of Sky High quickly learned to avoid Warren Peace, for fear of being barbequed. He immediately developed the habits of sitting alone at lunch and avoiding partners in classes.

Only one student seemed capable of exceeding even Warren's loner tendencies, Celine Barillo.

Celine didn't even bother entering the cafeteria and was regularly absent. She never participated in "Save the Citizen" and never spoke up in or out of class, not even in her own defense. Initially, Celine's loner quality had warranted severe teasing and mocking from her peers, but eventually, they just lost interest. After all, their teasing was never met with any kind of reaction. As the year wore on, Celine's presence at Sky High grew so infrequent that when she actually did attend classes, her teachers did a double-take.

As the first semester drew to a close, Celine Barillo was a dull memory in the back most's minds. Few could tell you what her power had been, for she rarely participated in anything. Some people chose to say that she never had any powers at all, forgetting her hero classification.

When Celine did not return for the second semester, it was hardly any shock or blow to the students, most of whom didn't notice until April. Many teachers were confused by the sudden disappearance of a student, a hero especially, but no one had any particularly vivid memories of the girl. When asked, Principal Powers replied the Celine Barillo had been removed from Sky High by her parents just before Christmas break.

And that was that.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Welcome Back

--About 2 years later--

"Please have a seat over there, Mr. Peace."

Alicia Shiner had worked as a secretary/receptionist at Sky High for only two and a half years, but it had been a very interesting time in her life. The job was certainly never boring.

The job description had called for someone with exceptional typing and communication skills. Being that she had always been a people person and could grow extra fingers, it had seemed like the perfect job. Little did she know she would be required to handle angry phone calls from various prominent hero parents and manage troublesome students waiting to see Principle Powers. The quiet moments when only typing occupied her mind were more like vacations than work.

There was never a dull moment at Sky High; that was for sure with future heroes and villains running amuck, failed villainous attempts at world domination, and periodic explosions across the campus.

It was only the first day of a brand new school year, and already, a regular in this office, Warren Peace, was waiting to see the principal. Apparently, he'd "fired up" at a freshman at the bus drop-off.

The weather was certainly not improving Mrs. Shiner's day. Generally, the first day of school brought with it a bright, sunny summer sky. It just wasn't natural to wake up to the sound of thunder and a darkening horizon in mid-August. When she'd entered the building, her small frame had nearly been swept away by the fierce wind gusts.

At the moment, Peace was slouched down in one of the dull blue chairs nearest the exit. Warren Peace had always had a particularly bad reputation at Sky High, but he rarely said a word to Mrs. Shiner. However, he had been among the group of students that had stopped Royal Pain the previous year. How bad could this kid be?

During his numerous hours spent waiting in her office, the most conversation the two had had was primarily through grunts or hand signals. Still, it was better than nothing.

Speaking of nothing, she thought, she'd almost forgotten about the other teenager occupying the waiting room. The girl had been sitting with her legs propped up on an end table for at least half an hour and yet she hadn't made a single noise. She didn't even seem to really move; without sunlight streaming through the windows, her dark figure was mostly shadowed over in the corner of the room. With her head tilted back and to the left slightly, she gave off the appearance of listening intently to something, but only the sounds of the storm outside echoed through the room.

Mrs. Shiner had made up her mind that she didn't want anything to do with the girl right a way. Normally, she didn't take an immediate dislike to the students of Sky High, but this girl had emitted a kind of intense, dark aura upon entering the waiting room. The kind, older woman hadn't even bothered to offer her a lollipop out of the cup she kept on her desk especially for that purpose.

It wasn't as though the girl had been particularly polite to her either. Mrs. Shiner was usually the first person in the office and had just been getting settled back into her old desk when the office door had slammed open. Principal Powers herself had marched briskly past her desk and into her own, personal office. Normally, her boss stopped for a morning chat with Mrs. Shiner, or at least a smile, but this morning the dark weather had seemed to have gotten to the principal.

Seconds later a severe-looking blonde woman dressed in a heavy black overcoat had stalked into the doorway. She'd looked as though being at Sky High was the most inconvenient errand imaginable and hadn't even bothered looking at Mrs. Shiner. The woman had lingered in Principal Powers' doorway and watched intently as the dark girl had then made her first appearance to Mrs. Shiner. Then the principal's door then slammed shut loudly.

The girl, whom Mrs. Shiner just couldn't place at all, walked at a slow, almost dragging pace as if she was in no particular hurry for anything. She walked with her head turned down and stopped in front of the older woman's desk.

Thoroughly confused by the morning's events, Mrs. Shiner had nearly jumped out of her seat when this shadow of a girl had made eye-contact with her. Brilliantly dark blue eyes popped out against pale skin, but in that moment those eyes had been as dead as a corpse. The older woman was quite suddenly filled with a sense of apprehension and yet tugged at by a strand of deja-vu.

Nothing more than slight boredom had shown on the girl's face. The receptionist had quietly gestured towards the many blue waiting chairs, and the girl had lightly nodded.

After that, the eerie quiet and stillness had set in, at least until Coach Boomer had dragged Warren Peace in.

- - - -

Deciding to shake off the tingle in the back of her spine, Mrs. Shiner went back to organizing her desk and equipment for the day. Just as she was booting up her computer, the principal's door swung open. Warren Peace started to rise, but sunk back down when he saw the severe, blonde woman glare at him from the door. Her gaze immediately fell to the girl, who barely acknowledged her presence.

Warren was genuinely surprised when an unfamiliar, teenage girl stepped out from the corner of the room. He'd had no idea anyone other than himself had been waiting for the principal. She was slender and didn't seem very tall. The dim room didn't allow him a look at her face.

Without a glance at him, the girl slinked over to the doorway. The blonde blocked her entrance for a moment and sent a steely glare directly at the shorter girl. They seemed to have some kind of wordless fight thing going on, but an enormous clap of thunder and flash of lightening interrupted. The woman's frown deepened as she pushed the girl aside and stomped out of the office.

- - - -

-Inside Principal Power's Office-

"Celine," Principal Powers extended her hand out to the teenager in front of her. "I hardly recognize you."

Celine Barillo ignored the extended hand, and slouched down into one of the armchairs in front of the desk. She didn't really care if the principal of this ridiculous school remembered her or not. Though she had changed somewhat drastically in the last few years, she didn't really feel the need to make falsely cheery conversation about it. There were more important things on her mind.

Severely unimpressed with Celine's lack of respect, Principal Powers retracted her hand and cleared her throat. She lowered herself down into her own chair and turned to the computer.

The rain pelted heavily against the thick glass of the buildings' windows, and an especially hard gust of wind seemed to rattle the building a bit. The principal raised an eyebrow at the screen and said, "Quite the weather we're having isn't it?"

With a smirk Celine responded, "Sure is, Principal Powers."

"Since you've already gone through Power Placement, we won't have to worry about that will we?"

"Guess not."

"Do to the special circumstances of your situation in the last few years, we won't be holding you back, unless, of course, you fall behind in your classes…"

"How very kind of you, Principal Powers."

The stately woman nearly winced at the tone of the girl's voice when she pronounced her name. Principal Powers was generally very patient with her students, but this girl was just giving her an odd feeling. Celine Barillo just seemed to give off this aura of anger and, well, darkness.

But no, this is silly, Principal Powers thought. I will not accuse a student of being evil after one frustrating meeting. None the less it was a bad morning and she was inclined to cut this little meeting short.

"I've got to be off to the Orientation for the freshman right now, so I won't be able to escort you around-"

Celine interrupted with a deadpan, "How very disappointing."

The two proceeded to engage in a short-lived staring contest before Powers continued, "You're to report to the nurse's office until lunch; she'll sort out your records and such. Afterwards, you're to follow this schedule."

Celine stood up, grabbing the pink paper.

"Alright then," Principal powers rose from her desk, grabbing Celine's file. "Welcome back to Sky High, Miss. Barillo."

Looking down at her schedule, Celine frowned and muttered, "The pleasure's all mine, Principal Powers."

---

-Back To The Waiting Room-

"You can just proceed to class, Mr. Peace. Just try not to roast freshmen in the future."

Somewhat shocked, the tall, dark boy followed the two women out of the waiting room.

"Oh, Mr. Peace, can you kindly show Ms. Barillo the way to the nurse's office first."

"Uhh… yeah, sure." Warren was just relieved not to be in trouble on the first day of school.

With that, Principal Powers flashed into comet-form off to Orientation. Warren ran a hand through his hair and turned to find that the girl was already headed down the hallway in the opposite direction. Under the fluorescent lighting of the hallway, he could get a better look at her.

She wore black cargo pants over black tennis shoes with a dark gray t-shirt. She didn't appear to have a jacket of any kind, which was odd considering the day's weather. A number of bracelets were positioned on either arm. Her dark hair was covered by a knit, black, beanie/skull cap hat.

"Hey-" he yelled after her.

Without turning around, she called back, "I already know where it is; you can leave," and she disappeared around the corner.

Warren stared down at the empty hall before him and muttered, "Ok then, whatever….. And you're going THE WRONG WAY!"


End file.
